Obituary of Leno Joseph Boni

Leno J. Boni Leno was born Sept. 19, 1917 in Meterville, now part of Butte, Montana. He was delivered by the mine doctor who took care of the miners and their families. He was the second child of Alemando and Marianna. His sister Lena was born in 1913 and his brother was born in 1923. Leno was proud of his heritage. His father came from Massacarra, Italy and his mother was from Lucca, Italy. His father worked in many jobs. He worked in the mines, a foundry, a saw mill, as a hotel owner and even as a bootlegger. His mother worked as most women did during that time, as the homemaker and caretaker of the home. Leno's character was influenced by his parents. They taught him love, honor and respect. He was taught that if someone needed help you gave it to them, if you gave your word, you kept it. Leno lived by these principles. Leno graduated from Lincoln High School in 1936. His favorite subject was shop. He loved the class and the work they did. He became a machinist after graduation. At the age of 23 he was made a machinist instructor and foreman at the Bremerton ship yard. The army called him into service not long after that. He spent the next 4 years serving in World War II with the 2nd Armored Division 66th Tank Corp. He said he was the number 1 goof, always in trouble! Leno had met Sarah by that time. She was working in a gas station for her brother, Rocky. Sarah sold Leno gas and stole his heart. She wrote him a letter every day while he was in the service. He wore a medal she gave him until the day he died. Leno and Sarah were married August 3, 1947. They were married by Father Biaggini, who had also married Leno's parents in 1912. He said Sarah was a good and loving person, smart too. After all, she had married him! Together, Leno and Sarah had three children, Sally, Mike and Mark. He loved them very much. Leno was not one to spend money on flowers. He did buy a dozen red roses for Sarah each time one of the children was born. Sarah and Leno had many fun and loving years together. They traveled all over the country with their travel trailer. They were on the go when Leno was an officer in the Knights of Columbus. They went to meetings and conventions and had the time of their lives. Leno was sad when Sarah passed away. It was like watching a man die from a broken heart. Bev helped to heal the wound. She was like an angel on earth. Leno would have passed many years ago if not for Bev. She got him to start eating right, going to the doctor and getting out. Leno loved to camp. The family camped at Black Lake for 30 years. There were several families that literally moved into Columbus Park on Memorial Day weekend and moved out on Labor Day weekend. Leno would travel back and forth to work daily while Sarah and the kids would spend the days in the park. Night time would find Leno fishing or sitting around the campfire with his Black Lake family. Leno could go out and catch fish when no one else could. he knew Black Lake like the back of his hand. He liked to be the one to come back with the dollar for getting the first fish. Corky and Leno would go fishing several times a week. Corky passed away a few years ago. His ashes were scattered in the Italian Hole on Black Lake. Leno's wish is to join Corky so they can go fishing again. Leno was active in the Knights of Columbus. He became a 4th degree Grand knight and served as an escort for the Archbishop of Seattle. He helped to start the bars for the Tacoma Knights of Columbus and also for Lakewood. Many still remember the Crab feed they put on to raise money for Bellermine High school. It was a brawl to remember! Leno was blessed with the friendship of some special people. After he retired he started to go to lunch every Wednesday with Joe Underwood. They didn't just go to a local restaurant. Oh, no! They might go to a restaurant in Vancouver, Wa. one week and another one in Seattle the next. Going to lunch was an all day adventure with those two! Darrell and Marlene Nelson came to visit him just about every week. He so enjoyed their company. Fran came at least once a week to play dominos with Leno while Bev went to give communion to the homebound. Of course, you couldn't play dominos without the exchange of a little money. There would also be a little cheating once in a while, but you were never sure from which one! Leno was very influential especially to his family. He believed the most important things in life were love of family, honor and respect. He believed that respect wasn't something that could be bought or given, it had to be earned. Your word was your honor. If you couldn't keep your word you really didn't have any honor. You need to work for what you want and pay for what you get. If something is free, that's probably all it's worth. The family will always be blessed with the memories of our Sunday dinners. Every Sunday it was dinner at Grandpa's at 5:30 pm. It didn't matter how many showed up, there was always enough. The door was always open to anyone to come. There was always a consistency with the dinners, spaghetti and lots of loud voices. We have been blessed to have such wonderful memories of those times. Leno liked to play the part of the tough guy. He would talk in his loud, gruff voice and rattle the person who didn't know him yet. It didn't take long before you found out he really had a heart of gold. He would give you the shirt off his back. The last couple of years he told us he only wanted money for his birthday and Christmas. He then would match it and give it to Francis House. He would grumble at the amount while he was writing the check, but secretly he was so happy to be helping those less fortunate than him. Leno passed away on November 4, 2009. He died at home, in his sleep. This was the way he wanted to leave us. His passing was 10 years, 1 month and 1 day after Sarah passed away. They had 52 years together before her passing. They are now together again. Leno has left us all with a legacy that can't be measured in money. He taught us how important it is to be true to yourself and your values. He taught us the importance of family and loyalty no matter how difficult the circumstances. Love of Family, Honor, Loyalty, Honesty, Respect--Our legacy from Leno We are so lucky to have had him in our lives. He was one of a kind. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on in our hearts. Thank you Leno. We love you......